Sir Alex Ferguson rant over referee Alan Wiley likely to see him land FA charge

Sir Alex Ferguson is facing an improper conduct charge from the Football
Association on Monday following his condemnation of referee Alan Wiley's
physical fitness in the wake of Manchester United's dramatic draw against
Sunderland.

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Take a break: Kieran Richardson is sent for an early bath by Alan Wiley as the referee has a 'rest'Photo: GETTY IMAGES

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Red star: Dimitar Berbatov equalises for United to make the score 1-1Photo: GETTY IMAGES

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So close: Sunderland players hold their heads in despair after Anton Ferdinand scores an own-goal in injury timePhoto: GETTY IMAGES

The FA have confirmed that their Disciplinary and Governance Unit will review Ferguson's post-match comments and, with Wiley understood to be "very upset" by the Manchester United's manager's brutal assessment of his ability to officiate at the top level, the Premier League are keen for action to be taken against Ferguson.

Staffordshire official Wiley, 49, was accused of being "not fit enough to referee a game of that stature" after Anton Ferdinand's 92nd-minute own-goal earned a draw for the champions. Ferguson also claimed that Wiley, who dismissed Sunderland's Kieran Richardson for two bookings, was taking 30 seconds to caution players so that he could "have a rest".

Just two weeks ago, Manchester City were angered by Ferguson appearing to share a joke with a Wiley, who was the fourth official during United's controversial 4-3 derby win over City at Old Trafford.

But there was little warmth towards Wiley from Ferguson on Saturday and, with the FA warning managers against making comments to the media in relation to referees, the Scot is likely to be censured for infringing those guidelines at the very least.

Ferguson said: "I was disappointed with the referee. There were four minutes and two seconds of injury time and there should have been another 30 seconds. But he was actually walking up the pitch after our [second] goal, needing a rest. He just wasn't fit enough for a game of that stature.

Darren Bent's impressive goalscoring performance for Sunderland, who were denied a first victory at Old Trafford since 1968 by Ferdinand's unfortunate own-goal, at least ensured one positive for Capello. But the latest examples of Foster's fragility might just have curtailed the 26 year-old's prospects of earning World Cup selection as one of England's three goalkeepers.

Foster has made 10 appearances for United in the absence of the injured Edwin van der Sar this season and conceded 10 goals. He was culpable both for Bent's opener, which bounced twice before hitting the net, and Kenwyne Jones's second-half header, when the forward's physical presence exposed Foster's weakness in dealing with crosses.

Ferguson took the unusual step of publicly criticising Foster for a goal conceded to Andrei Arshavin during the 2-1 victory over Arsenal in August, while his performance in the 4-3 win against City was marred by soft goals conceded to Gareth Barry and Craig Bellamy.

With Van der Sar likely to return against Bolton on Oct 17, Capello left Old Trafford perhaps fearing that Foster might now be restricted to a diet of Carling Cup and FA Cup appearances in the build-up to South Africa, which will hardly provide a convincing argument for his inclusion in a 23-man squad.

Patrice Evra, whose shot deflected off Ferdinand for the equaliser after Dimitar Berbatov had earlier cancelled out Bent's opener, admits that United's defending is causing concern. He said: "If you want to win the league, you need to keep clean sheets. Last season we conceded 24 goals and we don't want to concede more than that this season."